Irish football team apologises for faking player’s death to miss fixture – Fernando is ‘alive and well’ in Spain
- Ballybrack FC told officials Fernando Nuno La Fuente died in traffic accident
- A minute’s silence was held for Spaniard at all Leinster Senior League games
Dublin-based football club Ballybrack FC has apologised for the “grave and unacceptable mistake” of claiming one of their players had died to miss a match because they could not field a full team.
The Leinster Senior League club had told officials last Friday that Spanish footballer Fernando Nuno La Fuente had died in a traffic accident on his way home from training last Thursday.
The “news” was posted on the team’s Facebook page and reported in local newspapers with the league’s secretary Pat Kiernan offering heartfelt condolences to the player’s family and Ballybrack FC in a statement.
A minute’s silence was held for Fernando at all Leinster Senior League games on the weekend.
But the league, which was founded in 1896, is reported to have since learned that the Spaniard, who had played for the team recently, is “alive and well” in his native Spain.
Ballybrack, founded in 1975, are based in the Irish capital’s southern suburbs.
They have told the media that the person who faked Fernando’s death has been “relieved of all footballing duties” with the error said to be “out of character” in statement on Facebook.
The club have also apologised to Fernando and the team they had been set to play last week, Arklow Town.
A probe has been launched with some social media users calling for Ballybrack to be thrown out of the league, though they are scheduled to play Cooliven on Saturday.
